Japanese enterprises have great interest in Vietnam

This was shared by Mr. Sugano Yuichi - Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Mid-term Press Conference 2024 held this morning (October 17).

Mr. Sugano Yuichi - Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office - speaking at the press conference - Photo: JICA

Mr. Sugano Yuichi - Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office - said that in the Japanese fiscal year from April last year to March this year, we signed loans with a total value of up to 102.2 billion Yen (equivalent to 678 million USD) (excluding "Investment Finance for the Private Sector"), the highest level in the past 6 years since 2017.

Technical cooperation reached 5.2 billion yen (equivalent to 35 million USD), the largest scale in the world in the same fiscal year. Non-refundable aid reached 1.1 billion yen (equivalent to 7.5 million USD) in committed capital.

The above programs and projects have promptly supported Vietnam's economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic and contributed to both economic infrastructure and human resource development, creating a foundation for economic growth in the medium and long term.

Japanese people and businesses continue to show great interest in Vietnam, a country that has maintained stable and sustainable growth. Vietnam is the leading country among the countries that JICA is implementing cooperation with, sending 45 Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, 36 business investment projects of Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of sustainable development (SDGs), 24 grassroots technical cooperation projects (Development Partnership Program). In addition, Vietnam is the second country in the world with 9 projects under JICA's "Investment Financing for the Private Sector" program.

At the press conference, answering the press about some contents related to the North-South high-speed railway project, Mr. Sugano Yuichi - Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office - said that the project is being planned by the Government to be submitted to the National Assembly at the October 2024 session. We know that the Ministry of Transport is developing a specific plan to submit to the National Assembly. Our meetings with the leaders of the Ministry of Transport in the past have also mentioned many related issues. We are looking forward to the results of the discussion at the National Assembly on the project. Based on those results, JICA will have specific concerns about this project.

The representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam also said that the Vietnamese Government is currently making efforts to develop legal regulations related to ODA, which will create peace of mind for bilateral donors such as JICA and international organizations, as well as multinational enterprises of Japan and Vietnam and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) implementing projects in Vietnam.

"JICA would like to express its gratitude to the Government of Vietnam for its efforts to share common understanding towards new improvements. Japan wishes to share constructive suggestions and promote its accumulated experience with the Government of Vietnam," said a representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Regarding the question of whether there will be any changes in Japan's ODA strategy for Vietnam in the second half of fiscal year 2024? JICA representative said that JICA is currently focusing on three key pillars: "High-quality growth"; "Support for vulnerable groups"; "Human resource development". These will also be JICA's core cooperation areas in the coming years and there will be no change in strategy between the first and second half of this year.

On the other hand, from a long-term perspective, according to a JICA representative, ODA for Vietnam - a country aiming to become an upper middle-income country - is entering a period of transition with changes in both quantity, quality and role. We have heard about some new proposals from the Vietnamese Government such as: Human resource development in the semiconductor sector, natural disaster prevention, solutions to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, responding to the problem of population aging and supporting the recovery of damage caused by the recent storm... To meet the diverse needs of Vietnam along with the changing times, JICA wishes to boldly propose cooperation ideas with a vision for the next 5 to 10 years without being limited by conventional cooperation fields and mechanisms.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/doanh-nghiep-nhat-ban-quan-tam-lon-den-viet-nam-353035.html